Please Flame Responsibly
by Lady Grelyn
Summary: Please read and review.
1. Ranting

Just to clear some things up before I start posting…  
  
PLEASE FLAME RESPONSIBLY.  
  
By "responsibly" I mean that you should not be so much of a coward as to not put your   
name (or pseudonym) and e-mail address on a flame. Try to use correct spelling,   
punctuation, and grammar. I would respond much better to "I didn't like your fic because   
I don't think you did a good job of portraying ______ (fill in the blank)" than "ur fic sux   
they arent gay your sick". Just because I do not flame back is not an open invitation to   
send me lots of hate mail. I can handle profanity and insults so long as you are insulting   
my writing and not me as a person. If a summary or the opening author's notes say "1x2"   
or "3x4/4x3", then that is a pretty good bet that it will contain yaoi. Male/male   
relationships. If you aren't open-minded enough to deal with that sort of thing, please go   
somewhere else. DO NOT FLAME, because it is your own fault for not bothering to   
educate yourself before you begin reading fanfiction. I do not put up blatant yaoi   
warnings, because the pairings alone should be enough. It is a waste of both your time   
and mine to flame me because YOU failed to notice a warning. Besides- if you start   
reading a fic and realize it isn't at all what you wanted to be reading, then you can quietly   
go somewhere else. That's all there is to it. And to be totally honest, I don't really mind   
flames- at least they mean that I have gotten a reaction out of the readers, and isn't that   
the purpose of writing? Flames are in a way a success, because I have elicited a response   
from the person doing the flaming. And flames will only make me write more of what   
you don't like- chances are, you will hate the fics that I most adore. Funny how things   
always turn out like that, isn't it? But I'm not laughing.   
  
So in conclusion, all I can really say to you is this:  
  
PLEASE FLAME RESPONSIBLY.  
  
Thank you,  
Lady Grelyn  



	2. More Ranting

Part II: Just Because I Wanted to Say More  
  
All right, be warned- I am in a ranting mood. Please bear with me. If this becomes an emotional rollercoaster, feel free to exit at any time. That's what that nifty little "BACK" button on your browser is for.  
  
Just to start things off, I would like to say that if you want to become a part of anime/gaming fandom, KNOW YOUR TERMINOLOGY FIRST. And no, I'm not talking about the difference between a yoma and a Cardian or precisely what mecha is. I'm talking about the basics that can be applied to virtually any anime/game. Shonen-ai, slash, yaoi. Shojo-ai, yuri. Lime, lemon, citrus. Angst. Bastardization. Dark. PWP. BDSM. NCS. Don't know what one or more of the above are? E-mail me. E-mail any respected author and I am sure he/she will be happy to answer your questions. If they aren't, e-mail me. Ladygrelyn@yahoo.com. Write it down somewhere. Just PLEASE try to educate yourself before you get into something you didn't want to read. Flames are fueled by ignorance.   
  
Another thing- if you know that, say, yaoi isn't your thing, then by all means avoid anything with a yaoi warning tacked on it. [Special note for the Gundam Wing fandom: Again, know your terminology. Learn which character is represented by which number.] Read warnings. Ask around about what sites are yaoi friendly, lemon free, or anything goes. The information is out there, you just have to ask. Know what you don't want to read, and DON'T READ IT. The only person you have to blame for your ignorance is yourself. I have read far too many flames that go, "I didn't read your fic because I am anti-yaoi/hate yaoi/think yaoi is disgusting." Why bother to flame? Speaking unofficially for the yaoi fandom community, we know you're out there, all you yaoi-haters. We know you exist and we respect your opinion. How many times do you see flames that say, "How can you write about so-and-so being straight? That's so sick." See my point? I see nothing wrong with non-yaoi or non-lemon fanfiction. I simply prefer to read and write about two male characters in bed together doing naughty things.   
  
That being said, I think you will all be much relieved to hear that my ranting mood has passed (for now). Personally, flames will inspire me to reach new levels of smutty yaoi goodness in my fanfics rather than make me break down in tears and swear off writing forever. You have been warned.  
  
Think someone could benefit from reading this little rant? Pass along the word.   
  
~Lady Grelyn (Who is happy to answer any and all questions regarding fandom to the best of her ability.) 


	3. Even More Ranting

Part III: Because There Is More That Needs To Be Said  
  
*sighs* Am I being too obscure in my writings or something? I keep getting reviews that are... not helping the problem. For example- My latest review was left by 'sword of destiny', who is apparently man enough to find yaoi 'kind of nasty' but not man enough to leave an e-mail address on his review. This same 'sword of destiny' had horrid punctuation (run-on sentences *tsk tsk*), used his masculinity to defend his dislike of yaoi (which is oh-so manly), and said he was offended that I assumed he was homophobic (I'm sorry, did I miss something? Last time I checked, the word 'homophobia' did not appear in my rants. But of course, I *am* just the author...). I must not be getting my point across very well. Let me try again.  
  
* Dislike of yaoi DOES NOT mean homophobia or narrow-mindedness. Flaming DOES. Flaming is also an indication of ignorance and immaturity.   
  
* Sex DOES NOT dictate whether or not a person will like/dislike yaoi. It has fans and non-fans of both genders.  
  
* Flaming is NOT a one-sided problem, and I never intended to present it as such. Anyone could get flamed, regardless of personal taste or opinion. I am only speaking from my own experiences here. However, I would love to hear from other authors.   
  
* DO NOT flame, send constructive criticism. And be polite about it, too. It always helps to throw in some compliments. Authors love positive feedback.  
  
* DO NOT flame because YOU failed to notice a warning or know your terminology. And whatever you do, DO NOT EVER go looking for fics you know you won't like just so you can be bitchy about it. That's just plain stupid.  
  
* Don't attack my beliefs and I won't attack yours.  
  
* Know your terminology. I have put together a small glossary of common terms in fandom. Want it? Just let me know. ladygrelyn@yahoo.com  
  
I have an idea this thing might keep growing... For anyone who might be really interested in contacing me, the best way to do so is by e-mail. I don't often check my reviews, but I try to check my mail every day.  
  
~Lady Grelyn ladygrelyn@yahoo.com 


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